Loaded Potato Soup

2 cans chicken broth
2 pound bag frozen hash browns
1 tsp black & red pepper
1 tsp salt mix
3-1/2 cups milk
2 cups meat (usually use bacon but used leftover ham from Christmas this time)
2-3 cups cheese

Mix chicken broth, hash browns, salt, and pepper in a slow cooker.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Use an immersion blender to blend the potatoes.

Add milk, meat, and cheese. Stir.

Heat on low an additional 3-4 hours.

Serve with favorite potato toppings.

Peanut Butter Granola

Southern Living January 2009
3 cups uncooked regular oats
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°.

Toss together oats, peanuts, coconut, and in a large bowl.

Cook peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat 3 minutes or until smooth.

Stir peanut butter mixture into oat mixture until blended.

Spread mixture in a single layer on a lightly greased, aluminum foil-lined 17- x 12-inch jelly-roll pan.

Bake 20 minutes or until lightly golden, stirring after 10 minutes.

Transfer to wax paper, and cool completely (about 20 minutes).

Coconut Banana Mini Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup applesauce
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, applesauce, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.

Spoon batter into mini muffin pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool in pan 5 minutes, then flip out and cool on wire rack.

Baked Artichoke Dip

1 can artichokes, drained & chopped
1 block fat free cream cheese, softened
1 8oz container fat free sour cream
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 cup hard cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350. Spray baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, and 1/2 cup cheese. Spread in baking dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake 20 minutes.

Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Double Peanut Butter Pound Cake

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup Splenda blenda brown sugar
1 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 cup fat free buttermilk
1 tbsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups Splenda blend sugar
5 eggs (I use liquid egg substitute)
1/3 cup apple sauce
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a bundt pan generously with cooking spray.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In mixing bowl combine butter, Splenda blend brown sugar, and peanut butter. Slowly add in buttermilk and vanilla. Next add eggs and applesauce. Then add in Splenda blend sugar. Slowly add flour mixture. Fold in peanut butter chips with a spatula.

Pour into prepared pan. Tap pan gently on counter to work out air bubbles. Bake 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. . Let cool 5 minutes in pan. Flip onto serving plate.

Praline Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Charlotte Observer Wednesday, November 26

Dough for a single-crust 9-inch pie (homemade or purchased)

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

few dashes of ground cloves

1 (15-ounce) can plain pumpkin puree

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Praline topping:

1 cup pecans, chopped coarsely

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons brown sugar corn syrup

ADJUST rack to middle and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough, if necessary, and it fit it into a pie pan. Line the pan with foil, cover with pie weights or dried beans to hold the dough in place and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust beneath the foil dries out and sets.

BEAT the sugar into the eggs with an electric mixer until it dissolves. Beat in cornstarch, salt and spices. Stir in pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and vanilla by hand until thoroughly blended.

TAKE the pie shell out of the oven, remove foil and weights, poke dough with a fork in several places to vent steam and bake about 10 minutes longer, until lightly browned.

HEAT the pumpkin mixture in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, just until it is steaming hot; do not boil. Pour hot filling into hot pie shell and return it to the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 25 minutes.

TOSS pecans, brown sugar in a bowl. Add corn syrup and blend well with a rubber spatula. Remove pie from oven, scatter topping evenly over pie. Bake until topping is bubbling around the edges, about 10 minutes.

COOL pie completely on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature.

Basic Beer Cheese Bread

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light November 2008
1/4 teaspoon Black & Red Pepper (from Penzey's can sub 1/8 tsp black, 1/8 cayenne)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup cheese (I used smoked swiss)
1 bottle beer
cooking spray
2 tablespoons melted butter, divided

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add garlic, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Alternate recipes:
Apple-Cheddar Beer Bread: Place 1/2 cup shredded peeled Gala apple in paper towels; squeeze until barely moist. Cook apples in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat for 7 minutes. Use 1 cup shredded extra sharp white cheddar cheese. Use bottle hard cider in place of beer.

Chicken/Turkey Tortilla Soup

1 carton chicken broth
1 pound chicken or turkey, cooked and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
2 cups salsa

1 can chicken broth
1 cup rice (equals 1 large boil bag)

Bring can of chicken broth to a boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low add rice; cover. Cook 15 minutes or until rice is done.

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Peanut Chews

Recipe adapted from Lowes Foods Daily Recipe Email

1 cup brown sugar corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1-1/4 cup peanuts
5 cups Special K

Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 pan with cooking spray.

Mix corn syrup and sugar in 3-quart heavy saucepan.

Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; quickly stir in peanut butter.

Add peanuts and cereal, stirring to coat.

Using wax paper press into pan.

Cool and cut into 48 pieces.